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BORDER VIOLENCE
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Mexico investigates
Body prompts legal opinion
Embassy: Search started day man went missing By LYNN BREZOSKY SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
BROWNSVILLE — The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations said Mexico had opened a federal investigation and bolstered its search to find missing U.S. citizen David Michael Hartley and “categorically rejects claims to the effect that Mexican authorities are not doing enough.” Friday’s statement, from the Mexican embassy in Washington, D.C., came eight days after Hartley, 30, was reportedly ambushed during a trip on personal watercraft to photograph Mexican ruins visible from the sur-
face of the binational Falcon Lake. “The search and rescue for Mr. Hartley started the day of the incident, and intensified this week with additional officers from the Army, the Federal Police, and from state and municipal forces, which cover the area where the incident took place,” the statement read. “The operation includes the thorough inspection of the region by air, land, as well as the banks of the Rio Grande.” Embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday said the federal attorney general’s office opened an investigation based on testimony giv-
See HARTLEY PAGE 10A
By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Photo by Ed Andrieski | AP
Nikki Hartley, sister of David Harley, talks to supporters at the Mexican Consulate Office in Denver on Friday after meeting with the Consul General of Mexico. Friends and supporters of David, who was reportedly shot and killed by Mexican pirates, called on authorities to bring his body back to the United States.
ZAPATA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT
KIDS LEARN TO STAY SAFE
Zapata County Commissioners will ask for a legal opinion over the exhumation of a body from a suspected Indian burial mound when they meet Tuesday. They will also hear a status report regarding a land dispute. The county historical commission requested the exhumation of the body from a gravesite that was covered in asphalt during a drainage improvement project. The streets of San Ygnacio have been completely repaved and the body is may be obstructing the location for a drain, Commissioner Jose E. Vela said. The body will have to be removed in order to continue the ongoing drainage improvements project on Texas Street, Commissioner Gabriel Villarreal said. The Historical Commission is
See COMMISSIONERS PAGE 9A
LAW ENFORCEMENT
DNA helps solve crimes By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
field said. The focus of this year’s presentation was smoke detectors and how they work. “Every home should have at least one,” Butterfield said. “Smoke detectors must be tested once a month and batteries changed once a year.” Also during the presentation
For the past few weeks the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office has been solving criminal cases by collecting DNA evidence at crime scenes. Sheriff ’s office investigators solved three burglaries in September using DNA evidence, according to Captain Aaron Sanchez. In doing so, they tied all three burglaries together and were able to eliminate a suspect in one of the burglaries. Investigators collected bodily fluids at two crime scenes, Sanchez said. The two cases became one when the DNA evidence pointed to a single suspect in both burglaries, he said. The collected DNA evidence was submitted to the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab for comparison.
See SAFETY PAGE 10A
See DNA PAGE 10A
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
Second grade students from Villarreal Elementary in Zapata got a tour of one of the Zapata Fire Department’s fire engines Friday following a presentation by the members of the fire department as part of Fire Prevention Month activities. Firefighters William Butterfield, left, and Mike Sosa were on hand for the presentation.
Firefighters teach children ways to evacuate flames By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County firefighters taught Villarreal Elementary students a lesson in how to evacuate their homes in case of fire to mark National Fire Prevention Month. “We want every child to get out of the house as safe and as quick as possible,” said Fire In-
spector William Butterfield. The presentation Friday by the Zapata County Fire Department wrapped up Fire Safety Week for Villarreal students, said counselor Claudia Garza. While every class watched the firefighters’ presentation, each class engaged in different fire safety activities earlier in the week. “They talked about ‘Stop,
Drop and Roll’ and community helpers,” Garza said. “They did the fire fighter hat, watched videos, and the library also provided literature.” Every year students receive a different lesson on fire safety and prevention, Butterfield said. “Last year we went over fire drills on how not to pull fire alarms and if you pull an alarm it’s a criminal offense,” Butter-
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Zin brief CALENDAR
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
AROUND TEXAS
TODAY IN HISTORY
SATURDAY, OCT. 9 The 36th annual Texas Renaissance Festival featuring eight themed weekends will be held in Plantersville, 50 miles northwest of Houston, and will continue through Nov. 28 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. The event will take place at 21778 FM 1774. For more information, visit www.texrenfest.com or contact the festival office at 1-800-4583435. The Laredo Fire Fighters Association is proud to announce FIREFEST 2010 with Ramon Ayala, Solido, and Duelo live on the Laredo Energy Arena Grounds today at 5pm. Tickets are $25. Tickets are available at the LEA box office windows, Danny’s Restaurant, Tortamex Restaurant, La Roca locations, Central Fire Station, and Casa Raul South. For ticket and rib contest information, contact Roger Gonzalez or Peter Gonzalez at (956)744-5495 or (956) 251-3787. Cirque du Soleil will perform its production, Alegría, at the Laredo Energy Arena from Feb. 2 – 6 for seven performances only. Advance discounted tickets for Alegría are available now online exclusively to Cirque Club members through Sept. 19. Cirque Club membership is free and benefits includes access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive, behind-the-scenes information. To join, go to www.cirqueclub.com. Tickets for the general public will be available beginning Sept. 20 at www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria or by calling 1800-745-3000. Category 1, 2, 3 tickets: adults, from $35 to $79; children (12 & under), from $28 to $64; military, seniors and students, from $31.50 to $67.50. Premium tickets: adults, $95 to $99; children (12 & under), $76 to $80; military, seniors and students, $85.50. Alegría is a Cirque du Soleil classic and an internationally acclaimed production that has entertained more than 10 million people worldwide since its world premiere in Montreal in 1994. In May 2009, Alegría embarked on a new journey, performing the same mesmerizing production, but now in arenas throughout North Ametrica, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town.
SUNDAY, OCT. 10 As part of the Steinway Series, Texas A&M International University invites internationally acclaimed and prize-winning pianist Ning An to perform a piano recital featuring music by J. S. Bach, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Frederic Chopin on Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Fritz Gechter at (956) 326-2639.
SUNDAY, OCT. 24 The Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra presents "Crossing the Oceans" at the Center for Fine and Performing Arts recital hall at Texas A&M International University from 3 to 6 p.m. For more information or for tickets call Brendan Townsend at 326-3039.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 27 Texas A&M International University presents Mariachi International Concert. The event will be held at the College of Fine and Performing Arts theatre between from 7 to 10 p.m. For more information, call TAMIU Information at 326-2001. Cirque du Soleil will perform its production, Alegría, at the Laredo Energy Arena from Feb. 2 – 6 for seven performances only. Advance discounted tickets for Alegría are available now online exclusively to Cirque Club members through Sept. 19. Cirque Club membership is free and benefits includes access to advance tickets, special offers and exclusive, behind-the-scenes information. To join, go to www.cirqueclub.com. Tickets for the general public will be available beginning Sept. 20 at www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria or by calling 1800-745-3000. Category 1, 2, 3 tickets: adults, from $35 to $79; children (12 & under), from $28 to $64; military, seniors and students, from $31.50 to $67.50. Premium tickets: adults, $95 to $99; children (12 & under), $76 to $80; military, seniors and students, $85.50. Alegría is a Cirque du Soleil classic and an internationally acclaimed production that has entertained more than 10 million people worldwide since its world premiere in Montreal in 1994. In May 2009, Alegría embarked on a new journey, performing the same mesmerizing production, but now in arenas throughout North Ametrica, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town. To submit an item for the calendar, send the name of the event, the date, time, location and contact phone number to editorial@lmtonline.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Eric Gay/file | AP
Gov. Rick Perry is shown on Oct. 5 in Austin. Candidates for governor, Perry and challenger Bill White, have accused each other of focusing too much on political gain and not enough on the people’s business.
Politics, governing mix By JAY ROOT ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Democrat Bill White has been pounding Republican Gov. Rick Perry for spending more time on his re-election campaign than he does running the state. But records show that White did plenty of political hobnobbing of his own while Houston mayor. Barack Obama, before he became president, leads a list of luminaries who met with White in Houston during his six years leading the nation’s fourth largest city. Former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, and former Democratic presidential candidates Bill Richardson, John Edwards and Wesley Clark also made the list. There is a phone call with Caroline Kennedy and a meeting with then Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel, who later became White House chief of staff.
And the name of White’s top Houston fundraiser, Herb Butrum, appears more than 140 times during White’s tenure as mayor. Experts said they’re hardly surprised that politics and governing go hand in hand. "There are no lines. They don’t blur, they disappear," said veteran Austin lobbyist Bill Miller. "There is some high-minded work along the way, but it’s still politics." That hasn’t stopped the candidates from accusing each other of focusing too much on political gain and not enough on the people’s business. White had already seized on the lack of state-related events on Perry’s official calendar to label him a "part-time governor." White’s campaign has said Perry’s official schedule accounts for only seven hours a week in the first half of 2010, with many days reflecting no official events at all.
Officials: Powder sent to schools not dangerous
Prison killer loses federal court appeal
Reprimand ruling delayed for ’We close at 5’ judge
HOUSTON — Officials say initial testing of a white powder found in envelopes sent to 10 Houston schools has found the substance is not dangerous. Houston public school officials said eight elementary schools and two middle schools on Friday reported receiving through the mail typed envelopes with the powder and no note. While the substance has not been identified, initial testing found it was not dangerous.
HOUSTON — A federal appeals court has upheld the death sentence of a man condemned for a fatal stabbing in prison while he already was locked up for beating to death a Houstonarea man during a robbery when he was a teenager. Lee Andrew Taylor, 31, argued his sentence was improper because he was under 18 when he first went to prison and the U.S. Supreme Court has barred execution of people under that age.
AUSTIN — A ruling has been delayed on whether a reprimand will be dismissed against a Texas judge who closed her court at 5 p.m., preventing the filing of a last-minute appeal of an inmate put to death that night. Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller has asked for the dismissal of a “public warning.”
Reprieve for Dallas killer set to die next week
Paper: Flores’ bankruptcy cost taxpapers
HUNTSVILLE — A convicted killer set to die next week for the death of a Dallas grocery store security guard more than two decades ago has won a reprieve from the U.S. Supreme Court. Gayland Bradford was set to die Thursday in Huntsville for the December 1988 death of 29year-old Brian Williams.
WASHINGTON — The Republican challenger who has assailed Rep. Chet Edwards for supporting bailouts once led his company through a bankruptcy that let it avoid a $7.5 million debt to the U.S. government. Although Bill Flores said creditors were repaid with interest, court records show otherwise.
Border security debated in governor’s race HOUSTON — The search for a missing American tourist allegedly shot and killed by Mexican pirates on a border lake has prompted both Texas gubernatorial candidates to criticize each other over border security. Republican Gov. Rick Perry revived criticism that Democratic opponent Bill White ran a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants while Houston mayor. — Compiled from AP reports
AROUND THE NATION Alaska moves toward legalized bear trapping
CONTACT US
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska wildlife managers say they need help. A growing number of black bears are roaming the state, chowing down on too many caribou and moose and leaving too few for humans to eat. So the state is poised for the first time to legalize the trapping of black bears.
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Groups sue to stop wild horse roundup DENVER — Advocacy groups are seeking an injunction to stop a roundup of wild horses in Colorado scheduled to start Monday. The Texas-based Habitat for Horses, the New York-based American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Colorado-based Cloud Foundation filed a lawsuit Thursday in New York.
Today is Saturday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2010. There are 83 days left in the year. Highlight in History: On Oct. 9, 1910, a coal dust explosion at the Starkville Mine in Colorado left 56 miners dead. On this date: In 1701, the Collegiate School of Connecticut — later Yale University — was chartered. In 1776, a group of Spanish missionaries settled in present-day San Francisco. In 1888, the public was first admitted to the Washington Monument. In 1930, Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly across the United States as she completed a nine-stop journey from Roosevelt Field, N.Y. to Glendale, Calif. In 1940, rock and roll legend John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. In 1946, the Eugene O’Neill drama “The Iceman Cometh” opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York. In 1958, Pope Pius XII died at age 82, ending a 19-year papacy. (He was succeeded by Pope John XXIII.) In 1967, Latin American guerrilla leader Che Guevara was executed while attempting to incite revolution in Bolivia. In 1974, businessman Oskar Schindler, credited with saving about 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust, died in Frankfurt, West Germany (at his request, he was buried in Jerusalem). In 1995, a sabotaged section of track caused an Amtrak train, the Sunset Limited, to derail in Arizona; one person was killed and about 80 were injured. An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 shook the west coast of Mexico. Ten years ago: Arvid Carlsson of Sweden, and Americans Paul Greengard and Eric Kandel won the Nobel Prize in medicine. One year ago: President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Today’s Birthdays: Actor Fyvush Finkel is 88. Former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is 69. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nona Hendryx is 66. Singer Jackson Browne is 62. Actor Gary Frank is 60. Actor Richard Chaves is 59. Actor Robert Wuhl is 59. Actress-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 58. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 57. Actor Scott Bakula is 56. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 56. Actor John O’Hurley is 56. Writer-producer-director-actor Linwood Boomer is 55. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary is 52. Actor Michael Pare is 52. Jazz musician Kenny Garrett is 50. Rock singermusician Kurt Neumann (The BoDeans) is 49. Country singer Gary Bennett is 46. Movie director Guillermo del Toro is 46. British Prime Minister David Cameron is 44. Singer P.J. Harvey is 41. Golfer Annika Sorenstam is 40. Thought for Today: “It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher, American author and essayist (1879-1958).
Photo by Chris Riley, The Times-Herald | AP
Animal trainer Jenny Egelhoff comforts a 650-pound sea lion before he undergoes reconstructive surgery to repair his muzzle Friday at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, Calif. The sea lion suffered a gunshot wound.
Lawyers: Death row costly for murder convict NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A man convicted of murdering a woman and her two daughters will try to
avoid the death penalty by arguing that executions cost taxpayers more than life sentences. Attorneys for Steven Hayes filed papers saying they intend to testify that a death sentence exceeds the cost of a life sentence. — Compiled from AP reports
SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY (956) 728-2555 The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000 households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the Laredo Morning Times and for those who buy the Laredo Morning Times at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted. The Zapata Times is free. The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129, Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500. The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Avenue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mail thezapatatimes.net
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
Zlocal
LEARNING ABOUT AGRICULTURE
PAGE 3A
PUBLIC HEARING ON PARK AND BOAT RAMP
THE BLOTTER ASSAULT Juan Angel Garcia, 32, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault causing bodily injury at about 10 p.m. Oct. 1 in the 1000 block of Jackson Street. Garcia was held at Regional Jail in lieu of a combined bond of $5,000 bond.
BURGLARY Courtesy photo
Caleb Eaton visited Villarreal Elementary on Wednesday to initiate the Ag Literacy Program. The purpose of the program is to educate and inform fourth grade students about what agriculture is and how it affects their everyday lives. The students look forward to Ag Day on Oct. 15. Pictured from left to right is M.L. Collett’s class: Elizabeth Angeles, Samanatha Heinlein, Kayla Minor, Lesly Alvarez, Adriana Ramirez, Zapata County Extension Agent Caleb Eaton, Irene Mandujan, Armando Gonzalez, Carlos Davila, Aaron Cruz, Derly Peña and Oscar Garcia.
Courtesy photo
County officials were on hand for a Texas Department of Transportation public hearing on the Falcon Lake County Park and Boat Ramp on Tuesday, Sept. 28. Pictured, left to right, are Mario Jorge, TXDOT Pharr District engineer; Zapata County Judge Rosalva Guerra; Commissioner Jose Emilio Vela and Commissioner Eddie Martinez.
A 39-year-old woman reported at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 1 that someone broke into her vehicle in the 2400 block of Brazos Street. Deputies say that someone stole a purse, personal documents and cash from inside the woman’s 2010 Chevy.
Program’s goal is to teach women to help women By LORRAINE L. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Juntos Podemos program provided by Serving Children and Adolescents in Need is reaching out to Hispanic women in the work place to teach them how to prevent stress and to work more effectively with co-workers. “We’re going into the worksite asking permission from employers to allow female employees to get this wellness program to help employees help one another,” said Dora Ramirez, SCAN program director. The program began in October and is designed to provide services at the work site for Zapata, Webb, and Starr counties, Ramirez said. The program’s yearly goal is to assist 150 women. So far in October, the program has assisted 152 women, Ramirez said. “We’re very goal oriented and we’ve met our goal,” she said. Working women are always providing services for others and who provides services for them? Ramirez asked. “This program is designed for us, the employees,” Ramirez said. Ramirez said most wom-
en will get stressed at work for several reasons. One reason might be that a worker is doing her part, but her co-workers are not. Women also have responsibilities outside of work, Ramirez said. “We take care of the family, husband, kids and most of the time you’re the last one (to be taken care of),” she said. The purpose of the program is to help women cope with situations they can not control and to learn how to ask for help, she said. “The employees are trying to help each other out by telling each other that they need each other’s help,” Ramirez said. “This program not only benefits the women getting serviced, but everyone around them.” Gateway Community Health Center and Border
Region MHMR have opened their doors to the program, Ramirez said. The program’s interventionists are teaching women about tolerance, communication, stress, policies, and how to ask for help from co-workers for an hour during lunch, Ramirez said. “We talk about tolerance and how much you are willing to tolerate your coworkers,” Ramirez said. By providing the service at the women’s worksites, the women the program assists don’t have to go through the trouble of driving to a different location, find parking, or losing their lunch hour, Ramirez said. “We have everything ready to go,” she said. “The women can say ‘This is my time’ or ‘I need this for myself,’” Ramirez said.
Women are also taught about HIV prevention, Ramirez said. “The feedback we’ve gotten from the ladies has been wonderful,” Ramirez said. “They’re not only getting lessons, they’re getting to participate in case management, counseling, and refer out.” Anyone in the Zapata County area can contact Melinda Esquivel at (956) 765-3555 to find out more. Another SCAN program is the Futuros Excepcionales drug avoidance program for middle school and elementary school students, using a curriculum called Keeping it REAL (Refusing Explaining Avoiding Leaving). “It’s a drug resistance strategy,” Ramirez said. Students are taught about why drugs are not Carmen Ramirez - Rathmell, D.D.S.
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good for them and shown how to refuse them, Ramirez said. They are also told they have a choice to avoid drugs, but if they can not avoid them, then to simply
leave, Ramirez said. This program was also designed for the Hispanic population, and interventionists Gloria Vela and Sonia Sanchez are available in Zapata County.
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Zopinion
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM
COLUMN
OTHER VIEWS
Debate the substance, not process By GARY ANDRES HEARST NEWSPAPERS
W
ASHINGTON — If the Republicans win enough seats in Congress on Nov. 2, GOP leader John Boehner will become the next speaker of the House. The Ohio Republican would assume the gavel amid a maelstrom of polarization not seen since the late Nineteenth century. The partisan storm has caused considerable damage to Congress’s reputation. According to Gallup polling from August and September, congressional approval is now in the high teens, lower than it was in both 2006 and 1994 — two other midterm elections that ousted the incumbent congressional majorities. Further adding to the comity deficit is a president who has jettisoned any pretense of post-partisan style or substance since his election. And unlike Bill Clinton, who accommodated the new Republican majority following the 1994 election, many believe Obama lacks that kind of ideological dexterity.
More gridlock? So would a GOP majority in Congress mean Washington gets sucked even deeper into the vortex of gridlock? Perhaps. Partisan bickering comes with the territory. Americans share less consensus than you think. And political elites in Washington often exploit those differences. But after two decades in Washington, Boehner recognizes that people shape institutions and institutions shape people in equal measure. He gave an important speech last week at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) that underscored this theme, identifying an often-ignored cause of polarization — the legislative process itself. Changing the process won’t fix every congressional ailment. But Boehner believes it could help. He knows that fights over legislative procedure are now more common than disputes over policy. Lowering the temperature in Congress on procedural battles is an important step in legislative recovery. No doubt deep divisions over spending, taxes, or government regulation produce some of the differences we see in Congress. Republicans and Democrats deeply disagree on issues like how to balance the budget, stimulate the economy and the best steps to improve the environment. Yet a new source of controversy now infects the legislative body. As Boehner observes, the modern Congress rarely debates issues and alternatives the way lawmakers used to. Instead, the majority now usually blocks the minority from offering amendments. So the minority responds by offering politically painful procedural motions. Then the majority retaliates by “conjuring up new ways to shut the minority out even further.” Boehner calls this “a cycle of gridlock.”
The recent tax debate before Congress adjourned last week illustrates this point. Neither the House nor the Senate scheduled votes on President Obama’s policy to extend tax cuts for the middle class because of procedural concerns. Why? Because the Democratic leadership’s position would have lost. A bipartisan majority in the House supported extending tax cuts for everyone, not just the middle class. As a result, no floor debate was scheduled. No amendments were offered. The House had no opportunity to express its collective will. The speaker’s ability to schedule legislation (or not) determined the outcome. When lawmakers cannot vote on alternatives, Congress fights about process, not substance. This happens a lot these days. As Boehner noted in his AEI speech: “This Congress is the first in our history that has not allowed one bill to be considered under an open amendment process — not one. The current freshman class has served an entire term in Congress without ever having operated under an open rule.” Yet substituting procedural fights for policy battles is a relatively new phenomenon. Political scientist Sean M. Theriault identified this trend recently in his book “Party Polarization in Congress.” He notes that little of the increase in partisan polarization is due to fights on amendments or final passage votes. “In less partisan days,” Theriault writes, “all members agreed that all members could amend all parts of a bill . . .Today members vigorously fight about which members can amend which parts of the bill.” Boehner’s speech highlights many of these procedural problems and offers a kind of parliamentary glasnost that could help. He proposes a new level of transparency, committing to make all bills available online at least three days before Congress votes. Boehner also promises more open rules, allowing the House to work its will and producing more debate over policy than procedure. Lawmakers “should assume that their bills are on the floor, they’ll be subject to an open rule,” Boehner said. “If all committee chairmen and ranking members had this mentality, the result would be better legislation and better legislators.” No doubt restrictive procedures are both a cause and consequence of partisanship. But opening up the process along the lines Boehner suggests could help cool things down and actually produce more bipartisan voting on floor amendments and final passage. Boehner’s procedural reforms won’t heal everything that ails Washington, but he has accurately diagnosed part of the problem — the growing number of fights over legislative procedure. Adjusting the rules so debate focuses more on substance and less on process is a step toward recovery.
COLUMN
Phelps case cuts to the core By JONATHAN GURWITZ SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
A
week after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, I wrote a column disparaging the false prophets who rise up after almost every natural or man-made disaster, claiming to have ascertained the will of God in human tragedy. One of the more notorious of these diviners of destruction is Fred Phelps, the cadaverous pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan.
Vengeful god Phelps derives spiritual sustenance from the belief that God is wreaking vengeance on the United States for what he perceives to be the nation’s sins, principally homosexuality. The church maintains the GodHatesAmerica.com website, along with sister sites GodHatesFags.com, JewsKilledJesus.com and PriestsRapeBoys.com. Just in case I had any doubts about what sanctimonious jerks the Westboro clan is, Phelps’ grandson, Ben, e-mailed me to dispel them. “God sent Katrina to destroy New Orleans,” he wrote while New Orleans
was still under water. “Frankly, I can’t think of a city more deserving of being drowned in feces and rotting flesh.”
Hate in S.A. A couple of years later, the Westboro fanatics brought their road show to San Antonio. I arrived at one of their “protests” in time to see a handful of adults and children piling into a minivan like circus clowns with their “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers” signs. You see, according to the Westboro folks, God is punishing the United States not only with hurricanes but also with improvised explosive devices and sniper bullets. And they make a point of delivering that revolting message at the funerals of soldiers and Marines killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of them was Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who died in an accident in Iraq in 2006. Snyder’s father sued Phelps and the church. A jury in a Maryland federal court awarded him $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and emotional distress. The U.S. Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals overturned that judgment, noting that “the safeguards of liberty have often been forged in controversies involving not very nice people.” Now the U.S. Supreme Court has taken up the volatile case that cuts to the core of free speech issues.
Rejections For the high court, a number of precedents exist to reject content-based restrictions on free speech. Ironically for the Westboro goons, the most relevant may be found in evangelist Jerry Falwell’s failed attempt to sue Hustler magazine over a pornographic parody. “If it is the speaker’s opinion that gives offense,” the court found in that case, “that consequence is a reason for according it constitutional protection.” In a public statement, Virginia’s attorney general explained the impact on public debate if the judgment against Westboro is reinstated. “If protestors — whether political, civil rights, pro-life, or environmental — said something that offended the object of the protest to the point where that person felt damaged, the protestors could be
sued.” That’s a high price to pay to silence a cretin like Fred Phelps.
Staying away More than 41 states and the federal government have established laws that impose time and distance limitations on funeral protests, both military and non-military. That’s a more sensible and constitutional way of dealing with a despicable form of free expression. I have had two not-veryclose encounters with Westboro Baptist Church. That was enough. To think that grieving families might hear or see the taunts of its small-minded bigots on the way to funerals of sons and daughters, fathers and mothers who have lost their lives in the service of this nation, is both sickening and infuriating. But turning Phelps and his band of zealous morons into First Amendment martyrs is a mistake. And efforts to make their hateful speech unlawful are a disservice to the Constitution that members of the military swear an oath to support and defend. (E-mail: jgurwitz@express-news.net)
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
SÁBADO 9 DE OCTUBRE DE 2010
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CASO DAVID HARTLEY
Choque armado deja 6 muertos
SÁBADO 9 DE OCTUBRE LAREDO — La pianista Ning An otorgará una clase maestra de piano para pianistas de TAMIU y preparatorias locales, el día de hoy de 10 a.m. a 12 p.m. en el Center for the Fine and Performing Arts de TAMIU. Todos son bienvenidos. LAREDO — La Laredo Fire Fighters Association anunció que durante su evento Firefest 2010 tendrá como principal atractivo a Ramón Ayala, Grupo Solido y Duelo. El evento iniciará a las 5 p.m. en la Laredo Energy Arena y también contará con un concurso de costillitas, juegos infantiles y mucha comida. El boleto en preventa es de 15 dólares y en la puerta de 25 dólares. LAREDO — Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergada de TAMIU y explore “Kaluoka’hina, The Enchanted Reef” a las 5 p.m., “Attack of the Space Pirates” a las 6 p.m., y “Rock On Demand” a las 7 p.m. La entrada general es de 5 dólares. Más información en el 326DOME. NUEVO LAREDO — FIT presenta un concierto de música mexicana con Francisco Uresti Jr. y Manuel Celis y espectáculo de danza folklórica con el grupo Ollin Yoliztli en el Gran Foro Antigua Aduana, a las 6:30 p.m. Entrada libre. NUEVO LAREDO — FIT presenta Gran concierto de música de cámara, piano y voz con Sandra y Maureen Rendón Madrigal, el grupo ARS-OMNIA e invitados en el Espacio Cultural Antigua Aduana, a las 8 p.m. Entrada libre. NUEVO LAREDO — FIT presenta hoy a las 8 p.m. al Teatro Nacional Académico Bolshoi de Ópera y Ballet con “El Quijote” en el CCNL.
DOMINGO 10 DE OCTUBRE LAREDO — Jamaica anual de la Parroquia (Comunidad Católica) de Cristo Rey (1105 Tilden Avenue). Se rifará una SUV Chevrolet Equinox, modelo 2010. Costo del boleto es de 5 dólares. LAREDO — Como parte de la Serie Steinway, Texas A&M International University invita a disfrutar el concierto de la pianista Ning An, con música de J. S. Bach, Sergei Rachmaninoff y Frederic Chopin el día de hoy de 4 p.m. a 6 p.m. El evento es gratuito y abierto al público en general. NUEVO LAREDO — FIT presenta hoy a las 8 p.m. a los 10 violinistas de “Bowfire” de Canadá en el CCNL.
JUEVES 14 DE OCTUBRE LAREDO — El equipo de voliból de TAMIU recibe a Oklahoma Panhandle State University a las 7 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares.
VIERNES 15 DE OCTUBRE LAREDO — Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU y explore “Force 5: Nature Unleashed” a las 6 p.m. y “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure” a las 7 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares. LAREDO — El Laredo Theater Guild en cooperación con TAMIU presenta “The Lion in Winter” el día de hoy a las 8 p.m. en el Center for the Fine and Performind Arts Theatre. Entrada general es de 15 dólares. Adquiera su boleto en Foster’s (1605 E. Del Mar Boulevard), Blue Top (Hillside) y en la Librería de TAMIU; ó en la taquilla.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fotos por Eric Gay | Assocated Press
Lanchas del Departamento de Vida Salvaje y Parques de Texas se alejan de una ofrenda floral dejada por la familia de David Hartley sobre el Lago Falcón, cerca del lugar donde aparentemente piratas le dieron muerte.
Continúa búsqueda POR APRIL CASTRO ASSOCIATED PRESS
ZAPATA — La búsqueda de un estadounidense desaparecido luego de un supuesto ataque de piratas mexicanos en el Lago Falcon ha sido obstaculizada por narcotraficantes que amenazan con una emboscada, afirmaron el jueves autoridades de Estados Unidos. El legislador Henry Cuéllar, de la Cámara de Representantes federal, dijo a periodistas que las autoridades mexicanas han hecho todo a su alcance para encontrar el cuerpo de David Hartley al tiempo que tratan de mantener seguros a sus propios grupos de búsqueda. “Cuando caía la noche (el miércoles), se enteraron de que podría haber una emboscada”, indicó Cuéllar. “Las personas que intentan hacer su trabajo en el lado mexicano enfrentan riesgos, están justo dentro del avispero... tuvieron que suspender la búsqueda”. La operación fue reanudada el jueves por la mañana.
Advertencia Tiffany Hartley denunció que su marido fue muerto a tiros por piratas mexicanos el 30 de septiembre en la Presa Falcón, cuando ambos volvían en motos acuáticas a EU de un viaje para fotografiar un histórico templo mexicano. No se ha encontrado ni el cuerpo ni la moto náutica. Las autoridades de Texas han advertido a las personas que navegan en lanchas y a los pescadores que hay piratas que frecuentan la parte mexicana de la presa, de 40 kilómetros (25 millas) por 4,8 kilómetros (tres millas) en el río Bravo. El asesinato de Hartley podría ser el primero en el lago. Esa región de Tamaulipas, es disputada violentamente por el cartel del Golfo y los Zetas para controlar territorios, y las fuer-
zas armadas de México enfrentan a ambos grupos narcotraficantes.
Respaldo estatal El gobernador de Texas, Rick Perry, en campaña en Houston por la reelección, dijo que esas amenazas no eran excusa. “Creo que no estamos haciendo lo suficiente. Cuando uno suspende la búsqueda como lo hicieron... y dan como motivo que los cárteles de la droga controlan esa parte del estado, algo no está bien”, expresó Perry. “No necesitamos permitir que nuestra frontera continúe deteriorándose desde el punto de vista de tener cárteles del narcotráfico diciendo si podemos o no ir a recuperar el cuerpo de un ciudadano estadounidense que fue asesinado. Eso es irresponsable”, agregó.
Llamado a Los Zetas El comisario del condado de Zapata, Sigifredo González, aseguró que envió un mensaje a los Zetas para comunicarles que desea la recuperación del cuerpo y que no tiene la inten-
ción de perseguirlos. “Solamente queremos un cuerpo”, dijo González. “No podemos detener a nadie por lo que ocurrió en México... Sí le envié un mensaje a un cartel de las drogas, al cartel Zeta en México, se lo comunique extraoficialmente. No puedo decirles cómo, pero se los dije”. Indicó que no ha recibido respuesta. Martin Cuéllar, Alguacil del condado de Webb y hermano del legislador, dijo que México empezó la búsqueda el viernes 1 de octubre, un día después de conocerse el incidente. La cancillería mexicana afirmó el miércoles que ha estado coordinando la búsqueda “desde el primer momento”. Rubén Ríos, vocero de la fiscalía estatal de Tamaulipas, informó que las autoridades estatales no han abierto una investigación sobre la muerte de Hartley porque no tienen una denuncia formal. Agregó que estaban ayudando en la búsqueda, con las autoridades estadounidenses, como una cortesía hacia los funcionarios del condado de Zapata. (Los periodistas Olga Rodríguez, Juan A. Lozano y Jeff Carlton contribuyeron en la información).
Quieren evitar tabaquismo ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA
SÁBADO 16 DE OCTUBRE LAREDO — El equipo de voliból de TAMIU recibe hoy a University of Texas – Permian Basin a las 2 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares. LAREDO — Pase la tarde en el Planetario Lamar Bruni Vergara de TAMIU y explore “The Zula Patrol: Under the Weather” a las 5 p.m., “Violent Universe: Catastrophes of the Cosmos” a las 6 p.m., y Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” a las 7 p.m. Entrada general es de 5 dólares. LAREDO — El Laredo Theater Guild en cooperación con TAMIU presenta “The Lion in Winter” el día de hoy a las 8 p.m. en el Center for the Fine and Performind Arts Theatre. Entrada general es de 15 dólares. Adquiera su boleto en Foster’s (1605 E. Del Mar Boulevard), Blue Top (Hillside) y en la Librería de TAMIU; ó en la taquilla.
Tiffany Hartley, a la derecha, y familiares, participan en una conferencia de prensa con el Alguacil del Condado de Zapata Sigifredo Gonzalez, Jr., a la izquierda, el 6 de octubre, en Zapata, Texas.
CD. VICTORIA, México — Desde finales de septiembre, las cajetillas de cigarros empezaron a imprimir los pictogramas y leyendas de advertencia por el consumo de tabaco, con las cuales se pretende desalentar el consumo, lo que implicará una mayor vigilancia para el cumplimiento de la normatividad sanitaria. Según informe de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) el tabaquismo es la primera causa de muerte prevenible en el mundo. En México provoca más de 160 muertes al día, detalla la OMS. El Comisionado Estatal de Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios, Roberto Hernández Báez, manifestó que la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, establece la aplicación de medidas eficaces para que en los paquetes y envases de los productos de tabaco y en to-
do empaquetado y etiquetado externos de los mismos, figuren advertencias sanitarias que describan los efectos nocivos del consumo de tabaco. Los mensajes consisten figuras o pictogramas que contengan información sobre los riesgos que representa el consumo del cigarro. Entre las disposiciones que establece el acuerdo para la formulación de las leyendas e imágenes en las cajetillas de los cigarros, destacan que deberá figurar al menos el 30% de la cajetilla o empaque de cigarros, la imagen o el mensaje sanitario preventivo. “Con este acuerdo, se fortalece y apoya a las acciones que en materia de prevención se llevan a cabo para evitar el consumo de tabaco”, dijo Hernández. “Estamos reforzando las acciones regulatorias para la comercialización de estos productos, así como las políticas de atención contra la adicción causada por su consumo”.
La Secretaría de Salud es la encargada de la prevención y control del tabaquismo, además de la orientación y vigilancia de las enfermedades respiratorias, enfermedades cardiovasculares y aquellas atribuibles al tabaquismo, según lo dispuesto por la Ley General de Salud. Hernández dijo que el consumo del tabaco ocasiona graves daños a la salud, al medio ambiente y a la economía tanto de fumadores como de no fumadores. “El tabaquismo uno de los principales factores de riesgo para muerte prematura tanto en mujeres como en hombres”, dijo Hernández. El consumo del tabaco, se asocia principalmente al cáncer pulmonar y enfermedades pulmonares obstructivas crónicas y a su vez incrementa el riesgo de desarrollar otros tipos de cáncer, cardiopatías isquémicas y enfermedades cerebro-vasculares, constituyendo uno de los mayores problemas de salud pública en el país.
MÉXICO — Seis presuntos sicarios muertos y un soldado herido dejó un enfrentamiento entre militares y supuestos integrantes del crimen organizado en Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, informó el viernes la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional. El choque armado ocurrió la tarde del jueves, luego de que militares que revisaban un vehículo oculto entre la maleza fueron atacados por hombres que se escondían en una construcción cercana, refirió la dependencia en un comunicado. Al repeler la agresión, el ejército abatió a seis de los agresores y un militar resultó lesionado, sin que se haya informado sobre su estado de salud actual. En el lugar también se decomisaron siete armas largas, 38 cargadores, un lanzagranadas, cartuchos útiles y una camioneta. Tamaulipas es un estado que en lo que va del 2010 ha padecido un recrudecimiento de la violencia del narcotráfico, que según el gobierno se debe a una disputa entre el cartel de las drogas del Golfo y sus antiguos aliados de Los Zetas.
Calderón propone reformar policía POR E. EDUARDO CASTILLO ASSOCIATED PRESS
MÉXICO — El presidente Felipe Calderón anunció que enviará al congreso un proyecto para reformar los cuerpos policiales a fin de eliminar instancias ineficaces y establecer un mando único en los estados mexicanos. En un intento por revertir el deCALDERÓN terioro de las policías locales, que tienen mala imagen y han padecido la infiltración del crimen organizado, el mandatario propone establecer requisitos HERNÁNDEZ estrictos para ingresar y permanecer en las fuerzas de seguridad de los 31 estados y la capital del país, bajo el mando único del gobernante estatal. El gobernador de Tamaulipas Eugenio Hernández Flores dijo que es importante apoyar el mando único policial, a fin de accionar más rápidamente y tener mejores resultados en la lucha contra el crimen organizado. “Esto es sumamente importante para poder tener más avances, por que los policías municipales, son vulnerables, son presa fácil del crimen organizado y no tanto a través de la extorsión, del apoyo económico o la corrupción, sino del terror que ahora utiliza para ganar adeptos, de tal forma que muchos policías municipales han sido víctimas de ello”, dijo Hernández. El Gobernador de Tamaulipas considera que al tenerse un mando único, “creo que tendríamos mejores resultados”. México tiene más de 2.000 cuerpos policiales. Datos de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (SSP) señalan que de los poco más de 420.000 policías que hay en todo México, un 90% pertenecen a cuerpos estatales y municipales, y el resto son federales. El país tiene unos 2.400 municipios, de los cuales 2.022 cuentan con policía y más de la mitad tiene menos de 20 elemento.
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Zentertainment
Ayala, Duelo at FireFest today THE ZAPATA TIMES
The 2010 edition of FireFest will feature some of the best artists in the Regional Mexican and Norteño genres. Hosted by the Laredo Firefighters Association and scheduled for Saturday at the Laredo Energy Arena grounds, the 2010 FireFest will have several groups, including local band Inalcansable. Headlining the dance and outdoor festival will be three-time Grammy Awardwinner Ramon Ayala y Sus Bravos Del Norte. Also performing will be Latin Grammy winner Solido from Rio Grande City and Duelo, from Roma. Ayala, who has long been a top performing artist, may come to Laredo often, but his music still attracts many people. His timeless accordion-driven songs have been playing on Laredo airwaves forever, it seems. He’s been around for more than four decades, starting with Los Relampagos del Norte in the 1960s, along with Cornelio Reyna, another popular artist. Often referred to as Los Bravos del Norte, the band includes Ayala on accordion and second voice; Mario Marichalar on bajo sexto and lead vocals; Fidencio Ayala on bass; Jose Luis Ayala on drums and background vocals; David Laure on percussion; and Raul Rosales as the M.C. and on percussion. Ramon Ayala’s latest Latin Grammy nominated album is 2005’s “Ya No Llores,” with 12 tracks, featuring a rerecording of the title track, which was one of Los Relampagos’ first big hits.
Solido Rio Grande City’s Solido, a Latin Grammy-winning band, will also perform at FireFest. Solido won the Latin Grammy in 2001 for the album “Nadie Como Tu.” In 2000, Solido received a Latin Grammy nod for “Vueve” and the band was on top of the Billboard Latin charts for “Hasta La Cima del Cielo.” Solido consists of Ben de Leon on lead vocals; Rolando Benavides, Jr. on vocals and percussion; Medardo Garza on bajo sexto; Amado Garza, Jr. on drums; Eligio Salinas Jr. on accordion and vocals and Fernando Treviño on bass and vocals.
Duelo Singer/songwriter Oscar Ivan Treviño started playing alongside accordionist
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
COMING UP Kim Walton works at Appetit Local artist Kimberly Walton’s abstract paintings are on display at Appetit Restaurant, 107 Calle del Norte, Ste. 2A. Her artwork will be at the eatery until Oct. 30. Walton is a native of South Carolina, but now lives in Laredo. As an art educator, she is involved with a variety of programs in the arts. Walton is also scheduled to have a solo show, titled “Recycled Moxie,” at the Laredo Center for the Arts in November.
Courtesy photo
Oscar Ivan Treviño, with guitar, leads his band Duelo to the 2010 FireFest, set for Saturday at the Laredo Energy Arena grounds. Singer Ramon Ayala will headline the 2010 FireFest tonight at the Laredo Energy Arena grounds. The event starts at 5 p.m.
Dimas Lopez as Duelo Norteño inside a Roma restaurant. Later joined by drummer Juan Barrera, bassist Cristan Rivera and percussionist Edgar Rodriguez, Duelo hit the ground running, thanks to Treviño’s songwriting skills. By the time the band first started, Treviño had already established himself as a strong writer, having worked for established bands such as Intocable. Soon after, Duelo burst onto the music scene with the release of the band’s debut album, “El Amor No Acaba,” which featured the hit single “Amiga Soledad.”
Inalcansable Grupo Inalcansable is a local Norteño/Tejano band which as been active on the music scene for more than two years. The band consists of six members: Francisco Cruz, Jr. as the M.C. and on vocals; Francisco Palacios on accordion; Victor Armendariz on bass; David Perales on drums; Jose Sosa on percussion and Joel Everardo Johnson on bajo sexto and vocals. Johnson is also band’s representative. “We all live here in Laredo, and we very much enjoy entertaining our community, and will continue to work tirelessly to improve and keep giving back,” said Francisco Cruz, Jr. FireFest will also feature a costilla (rib) cook-off, free kid rides, games, dancing and a variety of food.
Photo by Dan Steinberg | AP
Presale tickets are $15 and are available at the LEA box office, Danny’s restaurants, La Roca restaurants, the Central Fire Station and Casa Raul South.
Tickets at the door will be $25. The event starts at 5 p.m. For more information, call Roger Gonzalez at 7445495.
piano master class for Texas A&M International University and local high school pianists. The class will run from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday in the TAMIU Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall. Another class is set for Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. All are welcome to attend the master class, where students will take turns playing selected piano pieces and receiving valuable feedback. For more information, call Friedrich Gechter at 326.2639.
JDRF presents 2010 Hope Gala St. Patrick jamaica The Juvenile Diabetes Oct. 16 Research Foundation vol-
The St. Patrick Catholic Church annual jamaica is set for Saturday, Oct. 16, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the parish grounds, 555 Del Mar Blvd. There will be plenty of family fun with food booths and games. Raffle tickets are $5 each for such prizes as a 2010 Ford Escape, a Disney World family vacation for four and a 42-inch flat screen TV. Prizes will be given Saturday at 10 p.m. For information, call 722-6215. St. Patrick parishioner Javier Compean is the jamaica chair.
Classical pianist Ning An at TAMIU Internationally acclaimed classical pianist Ning An will conduct a
unteers are coming together once again, led by 2010 Hope Gala chairs Tom and Marianne Lamont, to present the 2010 Hope Gala, “A Season for a Cure.” This year’s Hope Gala will flash you back to “late December back in ‘63” with the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ sensational tribute show, “Oh What a Night!” at the Laredo Country Club on Friday, Oct. 29, starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to the Gala are $150 per person. Sponsorships are still available. To purchase tickets or to become a sponsor, call Letty Garcia at the JDRF office at 712-2900, Joyce Norton at 763-5721 or any committee member. . — Laredo Morning Times
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A
LUIS CARLOS CARRANZA JR. ZAPATA — Luis Carlos Carranza Jr., born in San Antonio, April 6, 1975, passed away Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, at the age of 35 in San Antonio. Luis Carlos is preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Donato and Amanda Gonzalez; paternal grandfather, Jose Carranza; and an uncle, Javier Carranza. Luis Carlos is survived by parents, Luis C. Carranza Sr. and Violeta Gonzalez Carranza; sisters, Annette C. (Frank) Villarreal and Melissa Carranza Uriegas; nephew, Nicholas Uriegas; nieces, Amanda Villarreal, Isabelle Uriegas and Samantha Uriegas; grandmother; and by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends. He will be missed by family and numerous friends who knew him. Visitation hours will be held Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010, from 6 to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at Rose
Garden Funeral Home. The funeral procession will depart Monday, Oct. 4, 2010, at 9:45 a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Committal services will follow at Zapata County Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Rose Garden Funeral Home, Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102 Hwy. 83, Zapata.
COMMISSIONERS Continued from Page 1A asking that the body be exhumed and buried in a different location, Vela said. A certified archeologist will have to be hired to exhume the body, attorney Fortunato Paredes said. “It’s a slow, tedious process and we have to get the state involved,” Paredes said. “We need to do everything by the book.” Also at the meeting, Commissioners will receive a final report on the county property encroachment dispute against Joel and Maria Ruiz. A land trade will be finalized, Vela said. “(Ruiz) wanted to give us some kind of property for the encroachment,” Vela said. “He said he has some extra land.” The county maintains that encroachments on county property by Ruiz and other parties were discovered during repaving projects in San Ygnacio. In other business, in a recent article of the Zapata
County News, Zapata County Economic Development Center President Peggy Moffett-Umphres named the recently constructed higher education building the University Partnership Center, Vela said. The building was already named the Zapata County Higher Education Center, Vela said. “We got a letter from the president of (Laredo Community College) that he was very disappointed that the name had been changed.” Umphres does not have authorization to change the name and the commissioners were not notified about the change, Vela said. “It had already been known as Zapata County Higher Education Center,” Vela said. LCC President Juan Maldonado, Ph. D. wrote a letter to Zapata County Treasurer Juan Romeo Salinas stating his disappointment regarding the name change
Man allegedly kicks deputy By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County deputies say a man kicked a deputy during his arrest in the early morning hours of Oct. 3. Earlier, deputies said the man threatened a group of people in east Zapata with a rifle. Rogelio Navarro Jr., 24,
ROGELIO NAVARRO JR.: Bonds total $485,000 on variety of charges. was arrested and charged with four counts of obstruction and retaliation, assault of a public servant, resisting arrest, criminal trespass and evading arrest. Navarro was held at the Zapata Regional Jail in lieu
of combined $485,000 bond. Deputies were dispatched to a reported verbal argument in the 600 block of Carla Street at 7:15 a.m. Oct. 3. Upon arrival, deputies saw a man in the area and when they approached him, the man took off running. Responding deputies located the man at a relative’s house in the area of Sixth
and asked the name be reconsidered, as he felt the college is being left out because it is not a university, Vela said. “They felt excluded,” Vela said. In Umphres defense she said a memorandum agreement had been signed by the Zapata Education and Training Steering Committee, which includes the Zapata County, Zapata County Economic Development Center, Zapata County ISD, LCC, Texas A&M International University, and the Workforce Solutions Board. Umphres will be requesting the item regarding the name of the education center be tabled pending a Zapata Education and Training Steering Committee meeting Oct. 18, she said. “The intention at some point was to review and identify a permanent name,” Umphres said. “The name is important to build recognition.” The proposed name is the
Advanced Education Center for Zapata, Umphres said. Commissioners will also be seeking legal consultation for the land lease agreement with several cablevision companies regarding a telecommunications tower located on county property, according to the agenda for the meeting. “There is a big antenna in one of our parks owned by Time Warner,” Vela said. In 1973, the Commissioners Court approved a contract for a 25-year lease (with a 25-year extension) which included the provision that the county would not receive any compensation for the use of the property, Vela said. “How could we allow this?” he asked. “They are using three acres and we don’t get a single penny,” Vela said. “I don’t think it’s fair.” (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)7282557.)
HITTING A ROCK THROWER
Avenue and Carla Street, said Sgt. Mario Elizondo. Elizondo said Navarro resisted arrest, and while being escorted, he allegedly kicked a deputy. Deputies did not recover the rifle that Navarro allegedly used to threaten the group, Elizondo said. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Arrest ends three-county chase By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Zapata County deputies say a motorist led them on a chase through three counties on Oct. 3 and was only stopped after Department of Public Safety troopers “spiked” a roadway. They also say they found several doses of cocaine inside the motorist’s Fort Fusion, according to Sgt. Mario Elizondo.
DANIEL A. GUTIERREZ: Held on charges of evading arrest. Daniel A. Gutierrez, 28, was arrested on charges of evading arrest and possession of a controlled substance. Deputies also served him with a theft warrant issued by the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office. Elizondo said Gutierrez
eluded authorities after a deputy attempted a traffic stop at 8:45 p.m. in the intersection of Texas 16 and Arroyo Veleño, five miles east of Zapata. According to Elizondo, Gutierrez fled into Jim Hogg County on FM 649, then continued toward Starr County. DPS troopers assisted in the search and laid out roadway spikes for the vehicle near the Starr and
Jim Hogg county line. The spikes caused Gutierrez’ vehicle to stop and deputies arrested him on the spot, Elizondo said. They also found five foil papers containing cocaine, weighing about 0.8 grams, Elizondo said. Gutierrez was held at Zapata Regional Jail in lieu of a $65,000 bond. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Photo by Moammar Awwad | AP
A masked Palestinian protester is hit by a car while throwing rocks in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, on Friday. Clashes erupted in Silwan, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem that is also home to families of Israeli settlers. One Palestinian boy throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles was lightly injured after being hit by a car he charged. The car was driven by the head of a settler organization that buys up property for Jews in Silwan.
Four teens accused of sexually assaulting girl ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHANNELVIEW, Texas — Four teenagers, including a 17-year-old girl, robbed a Channelview High School student and took part in the sexual assault of his girlfriend, investigators say. Jerricho Prince, 18, and
the 17-year-old girl, who was also a student at the school, were arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. They were being held in Harris County jail on Friday on $90,000 bail each. The two other teens,
whose names were not released, were being held Friday as juveniles on the same charges as Prince and the 17-year-old girl, Harris County sheriff ’s spokeswoman Hannah Pietsch said. Authorities say the four teens approached the male victim at 2 a.m. on Sunday
and that Prince displayed a pistol in his waistband and ordered the victim to empty his pockets. They say Prince then told the student that he would shoot him unless the student called his girlfriend and got her to meet them at a nearby football stadium. When she arrived, au-
thorities say, Prince and one of the juveniles sexually assaulted her while the 17-year-old girl and the other teen held the male victim at gunpoint. When the teens finished assaulting the girl, she dressed and they took the two to a nearby grocery store, where the male victim was
forced to withdraw $80 from an ATM before he and his girlfriend were released, according to court documents. Deputies showed surveillance photos and video from the two stores to school officials, who identified Prince and the 17-yearold girl, authorities say.
10A THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
SAFETY Continued from Page 1A students were shown a video on fire safety: “Fire’s Hot, Stretch is Cool.” “Stretch” was a cartoon fire engine that sang “Get low and go,” a lesson the firefighters would later use on a model bedroom built by the fire department. Two second grade students, Randy Chapa and Kayla Jackson, were selected by Butterfield to demonstrate what to do in case a smoke detector wakes them up. Chapa demonstrated when a door is cool and Jackson demonstrated when a door is hot. Chapa was laid on a pretend bed and after hearing the smoke detector alarm, he rolled out of bed, crawled to the door and checked the door with the back of his hand as he was taught. In his case the door and door knob were cool so he could exit the door. On the other hand, the door was “hot” when Jackson touched it, so she had to crawl to the window and check if it would open. The students were taught if a window cannot be opened they must stand in front of it and yell for help. Students were also told not to hide in a closet or under the bed, so they can be found by firefighters attempting a rescue. Butterfield emphasized the importance of smoke detectors and having marked addresses outside of homes.
en this week by Hartley’s wife, Tiffany, at the Mexican consulate in McAllen.
Friday’s search
Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning Times
William Butterfield, of the Zapata Fire Department, looks on as Kayla Jackson, a second grade student at Villarreal Elementary in Zapata, demonstrates the proper way to test a door in case of a house fire during a presentation at the school Friday morning. “We can’t find a lot of houses,” he said. “They’ll call us up and say we have a fire here or medical call here but we can’t find them because there’s no address on the house,” Butterfield said. People have been killed in fires and most of the cases were around the Villarreal Elementary area, Butterfield said. “Last year a young girl was killed. She was either 7 or 8 years old,” Butterfield said. “We’re definitely promoting safety.” Butterfield also told students to arrange a meeting place with their family in
case of a fire. “Everyone needs one,” he said. It’s easier for firefighters to find out if someone is missing if a family gets together at a meeting place after a fire breaks out, Butterfield said. Firefighter Carlos Talamante wore a fire safety suit during the presentation to show the students not to be afraid of it. At the end of the presentation students were given a brief tour of a fire truck and its equipment. (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)7282557.)
DNA Continued from Page 1A “Several weeks later the DNA was processed and was determined to be a match for the suspect and the evidence collected at the scenes,” Sanchez said. The investigators collected DNA through a saliva swab at a third burglary. The DNA was not a match for their original suspect, but it did implicate the suspect in the other two burglaries, Sanchez said. That suspect is in custody and has been charged in the three burglaries, according to Sanchez.
HARTLEY Continued from Page 1A
That suspect is in custody and has been charged in the three burglaries, according to Sanchez. By providing DNA evidence, sheriff ’s deputies have also succeeded in solving aggravated assault cases and have made homicide cases stronger, Sanchez said. “The techniques employed by these officers come from continuing education both in classroom and
hands on settings, and include crime scene preservation and evidence collection training,” he said. “These techniques are then fine-tuned as part of the daily activities encountered on the job.” (Lorraine L. Rodriguez may be reached at (956)7282557.)
Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar said a Mexican police commander told him they were out searching 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday but had found no sign of Hartley or his watercraft. “They haven’t found anything; they haven’t seen anything,” he said. “They’re still searching. The guys are still searching.” Cuellar called his Mexican contact through walkie-talkie radio from his office and asked for a preliminary report at around 2 p.m. The comandante, or commander, said over the radio that there were four boats in the water searching for the body with air assistance by Dirección de Protección Civil, Bomberos y Desastres, a fire department rescue team. In photographs of the search released Friday afternoon, Cuellar noted that authorities are working together. He also pointed out the danger lurking in the area. “There are cartel members out there. That’s why you see the armed people,” Cuellar said as he pointed to the armed officials with assault rifles. Soldiers with the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, Mexico’s Army, and officers with the Ministerio Público Federal, or Mexican federal authorities, are pictured near the lake banks. Some soldiers and officers are photographed maintaining vigilance as rescuers perform their duties, while other officers are pictured coming back from a search in the water. The faces of the searchers were blacked out, presumably for security rea-
sons. “They have a very tough job because they have to search and protect themselves at the same time,” Cuellar said.
Different accounts State police in Tamaulipas initially claimed they lacked an official go-ahead for the search but had during the first few days after the alleged attack found neither a body nor the watercraft. They questioned Tiffany’s account. Tiffany and her family have spent the week appearing on network and cable television talk shows, retelling the couple’s encounter with armed thugs Sept. 30. Tiffany, who is less than 5 feet tall and weighs about 105 pounds, said she tried in vain to pull her 250-pound husband’s lifeless body onto her watercraft. She said God protected her as she fled the scene, with boatloads of men following her and continuing their gunfire well into U.S. waters. The 29-year-old woman has spent equal time defending her story, admitting it would sound incredible to someone unfamiliar with the Texas border lake and saying it is hurtful to have to defend her love for her husband. The two were high school sweethearts in Colorado and have been married since June 2002. His family has been with her continuously as she sits for one television interview after another, saying the focus should be on acknowledging the threat of Mexican drug war spillover.
About 100 people, including David’s sister Nikki, gathered at a park in Denver and walked to the Mexican consulate there in a show of support for Tiffany. A similar rally planned for McAllen was cancelled, with a family spokesman saying there wasn’t enough time to pull it together. Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, appearing Thursday with three congressmen and a string of other state and local officials, said he does not doubt her account and has new evidence supporting her story, including indication of blood on Tiffany’s life jacket.
Video released The Texas Department of Public Safety, meanwhile, released a video of the Hartleys being stopped for an expired trailer plate the morning of the alleged attack. DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said the 10-minute video shows the Hartleys being pulled over on Sept. 30 at about 11:30 a.m. on U.S. 83 in Rio Grande City, about an hour east of Zapata. Mange said the two weren’t ticketed or cited because the troopers saw a couple of trucks go by with what appeared to be a large amount of marijuana. She said the trucks turned out to be unmarked federal vehicles transporting seized loads. (LMT staff writer César G. Rodriguez and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
Sports&Outdoors VOLLEYBALL
Top ten Zapata keeps pace in rankings By CLARA SANDOVAL ZAPATA TIMES
The Zapata volleyball team continues to make history as the Texas Girls Coaches Association, in its latest poll, ranks the Lady Hawks No. 10 in Class 3A. It is the highest ranking this season by the Lady Hawks as they continue to march toward a district ti-
tle. Zapata (9-0, 19-3) swept Progreso and Donna IDEA Academy in three games this past week to take a strong hold of the District 31-3A title. The Lady Hawks swept Donna 25-5, 25-18 and 25-10 to keep their perfect district record intact. Senior Brandi King put on another offensive per-
formance with 20 kills to go along with four aces, two assists, nine digs and three blocks. Estella Molina distributed the ball to King and the rest of her teammates to record a team-high 18 assists. Last Saturday, the Lady Hawks took on the Lady
Courtesy Photo
Zapata’s Selina Mata hits the ball during a recent district contest. Mata and the Lady Hawks are ranked No. 10 in Class 3A volleyball.
See VOLLEYBALL PAGE 2B
CROSS COUNTRY
NCAA
NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR LADY MERLINS
Aggies have hands full hosting No. 11 Arkansas By KRISTIE RIEKEN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Courtesy Photo
Eighth graders Alexandra Garcia, Maria Angeles, Maria Rodriguez and Gaby Garcia compete at a recent cross country meet.
Zapata Middle tastes second-place success By CLARA SANDOVAL ZAPATA TIMES
The middle school girls’ cross-country teams are finding success in the season with a strong showing at their own Middle School Cross Country Meet.
Schools from Roma and Rio Grande City made the trip and gave the Lady Merlins some great competition. The seventh grade team blazed through the course and ran away with the team
Schools from Roma and Rio Grande City made the trip and gave the Lady Merlins some great competition.
See XC PAGE 2B
COLLEGE STATION — After an emotional loss to top-ranked Alabama followed by a bye week, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino was curious to see how his team would react. No need to worry about the 11th-ranked Razorbacks. They are just fine heading into Saturday’s game against Texas A&M. “I liked what I saw from our football team on the first Tuesday after the Alabama game,” Petrino said. “I was surprised by our energy and the leadership and the attitude. We came back and just said let’s go back to work.” Arkansas had a 13-point lead against Alabama before the Crimson Tide rallied to a 24-20 win two weeks ago. The Razorbacks (3-1, 1-1 SEC) watched as Alabama dominated Florida in a 31-6 victory last weekend and Petrino believes that gave his team a shot of confidence. “Some people may still have it on their hearts, but as a team I think we are over it,” defensive end Tenarius Wright said of losing to Alabama. “We came out and took a stand not to lose any more games, and we are ready for the Texas A&M game.” Now they’ll step out of Southeastern Conference play to face their old Southwest Conference rival in the Aggies. This is the second game in a 10-year deal to play Texas A&M at Cowboys Stadium annually. The Aggies are coming off an emotional loss of their own after quarterback Jerrod Johnson had five turnovers, including one that led to the game-winning field goal, in a 38-35 loss to No. 22 Oklahoma State on Sept. 30. Texas A&M (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) sees this as another shot to improve its status as a contender in
See A&M PAGE 2B
NCAA
Must-win for Mack ’Horns need a turnaround vs. No. 7 Nebraska to save season By JIM VERTUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Texas coach Mack Brown needs something to turn around a season teetering on collapse. How about the Nebraska Cornhuskers? No. 7 Nebraska (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) will be favored to beat Texas (3-2) next weekend in Lincoln, but there’s no escaping history that shows Texas and Brown have owned the Cornhuskers since the berth of the Big 12. Brown is 7-1 against Nebraska since 1998, includ-
ing several of his biggest wins with the Longhorns. And don’t think Brown, who cut his coaching teeth against Nebraska in the old Big 8 conference as an assistant at Iowa State and Oklahoma, isn’t quietly proud of that record. With Nebraska bolting the Big 12 for the Big Ten next season, next Saturday could be the last time these league heavyweights play each other. “I’m sorry that Texas and Nebraska won’t be playing in the future,” Brown said. With that record, it’s
easy to see why. Brown also has deep respect for a program that he considers among the greats in the game. In 1979, Brown left a job at Memphis to go to Iowa State specifically so he could coach against Nebraska’s Tom Osborne and Oklahoma’s Barry Switzer. “They were winning and I wanted to see how they did it ... Coach Osborne was a guy who I wanted to be just like him,” Brown said. The young coach marveled not just at the success on the field but also the Nebraska fan support. “They were all wearing red before fans did that sort of stuff,” Brown said. “Everything they had,”
he said, “is what I wanted.” Once he got to Texas, Brown started beating Nebraska. Again and again and again — in agonizing fashion for Huskers fans. In 1998, Brown took his first Texas team into Lincoln and ended the Cornhuskers’ 47-game home winning streak. Nebraska beat Texas in the ’99 Big 12 championship but Brown has been getting the best of the Huskers ever since. In 2002, Texas returned to Lincoln and did it again, snapping the Huskers’ 26game home winning streak. For 11 years, the only team to go into Lincoln and win was Texas. Texas started its run of
See LONGHORNS PAGE 2B
Photo by LM Otero | AP
Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert (7) looks to pass behind protection from offensive linesman Lonnie Edwards (78) and guard Michael Huey (63) during the first half of an NCAA football game against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Saturday, Sept. 18. Gilbert threw for two touchdowns and 227 yards to lead Texas past Texas Tech 24-14.
PAGE 2B
Zscores
Carlisle sustains collapse at practice By JEFF CARLTON ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle collapsed at practice on Friday and was briefly taken to a hospital. The 50-year-old Carlisle will not travel to the Mavericks’ outdoor exhibition game Saturday in California against Phoenix, team president Donnie Nelson said. Carlisle is expected to return to the sidelines for a preseason game Monday in Dallas. “He got lightheaded and fainted,” Nelson said. “I don’t know if he didn’t put enough sugar on his Wheaties this morning or what. But he’s fine now.” Team spokeswoman Sarah Melton said Carlisle “was apparently lightheaded” and fainted on the court at the American Airlines Center. He was responding to questions as he was carried by stretcher to an ambulance and taken to Baylor University Medical Center. “It was all sort of precautionary — get him to the hospital and make sure he is OK,” Melton said. Nelson said Carlisle has fainted before, but that the coach is in good health. “All of us faint, whether you’re in church and you stand up and get lightheaded or what have you.” Nelson said. “We’ve all been through it.” Nelson said it was scary to see his coach go down and reminded him at first of the night college basketball star Hank Gathers collapsed and died on the court during a 1990 Loyola Marymount game. “I was there the night went Hank went down,” Nelson said. “Weird things flash in your mind.” Carlisle is a former NBA player who spent five seasons with Boston, New York and New Jersey. He is about to begin his third season with the Mavericks, following head coaching stints in Indiana and Detroit. “I heard the fall,” guard Jason Kidd told The Dallas Morning News. “We don’t know what the situation is. Basketball is our job, but life comes before our job or anything else. Your well-being is the most important thing. That’s our coach and our family member. We got to make sure he’s all right and we’ll go from there.” Dallas defeated Chicago in an exhibition 88-83 on Thursday night. Last month, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio was hospitalized with a mild heart attack a few hours after his team beat Notre Dame in overtime. Dantonio had a stent installed during surgery and is planning to return for his first game since on Saturday when the Spartans play at Michigan.
No. 5 Frogs face MWC foes By SCHUYLER DIXON ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH — The Wyoming Cowboys are making the long trip south to play the only ranked team in Texas. No, not the Longhorns. Wyoming has already shown they could hang for a half with a Top 10 team in Austin, though the Cowboys faded in a 34-7 loss to Texas last month — before the Longhorns fell from the rankings for the first time in a decade. Now the Cowboys will try to do the same thing in Fort Worth, where No. 5 TCU is a 34-point favorite Saturday and the Frogs are generating talk that last year’s BCS busters are more than the lone ranked team in Texas — they’re the best in Texas. “They have not got worse. I can tell you that from watching the video,” said Wyoming coach Dave Christensen. “They’ve got a lot of experience on offense and defense. They’re very athletic, and they’ll be one of the best football teams we play.” That’s saying something because the Cowboys (2-3, 0-1 Mountain West) are facing their third Top 10 opponent in six games. They lost to No. 4 Boise State 51-6 at home three weeks ago. Not only that, but Wyoming might be leading the nation in frequent flier miles. This is their second thousand-mile trip to Texas, and it comes a week after traveling about 1,200 miles to Toledo, where the jet lag was offset by a 20-15 win. “We’ve had an extremely difficult road that we’ve been taking against a number of top teams in the country, and so it was great to get a taste of victory and an opportunity to feel good after a game,” Christensen said. TCU (5-0, 1-0) is playing the first of three straight at home after a pair of closer-than-expected victories, including last week’s 27-0 win at Colorado State when the Frogs led just 6-0 at halftime. The last time they were at home, the Frogs played their best game of the year — a
Photo by Jack Dempsey | AP
In this Oct. 2 file photo, TCU quarterback Andy Dalton throws as Colorado State defensive tackle Guy Miller (66) pursues during an NCAA football game in Fort Collins, Colo.
45-10 victory over Baylor when many figured the Bears were finally good enough to stay close. Like it or not, TCU is playing the comparison game as it battles Boise State for a possible spot in the BCS championship game. And this is the second comparison game for the pair. The Frogs opened with a 30-21 win over Oregon State, and the Broncos beat the Beavers 37-24 three weeks later. “I can’t control the voters. I can’t control how coaches feel,” said TCU coach Gary Patterson. “All I can do is try to win ball games.” Patterson understands the scoreboard game, but the former defensive coordinator was excited about the first road shutout for
XC Continued from Page 1B title for the second time this season. Leading the way for the Lady Merlins was Norma Ramirez with a strong second-place finish. Joining her in the medal count were Raquel Almaguer (third), Alexa Alvarez (fifth), Andrea Garza (11th) and Janie Guzman (12th). District rival Rio Grande City La Grulla edged out the eighth grade girls team for the second time this season despite the Lady Merlins
grabbing six out of the top ten medals. Alexandra Garcia was the Lady Merlins’ top runner with a fourth place finish. Teammates Eviln Huerta (fifth), Brianna Gonzalez (seventh), Nadya Mercado (eighth), Mary Rodriquez (ninth), and Maria Angeles (10th) contributed to the runner-up team effort. The Lady Merlins will be in competition again this weekend in Roma hoping to bring back two championships.
LONGHORNS Continued from Page 1B dominance over Nebraska in 1996, when the Longhorns, three-touchdown underdogs, shocked the defending national champions 37-27 in the Big 12 championship game. Brown knows the Longhorns will play a Nebraska program itching to unleash 14 years of payback and sensing a wounded Texas team primed for a pounding. Brown expects his last trip into Lincoln to be a memorable one. “Now we’re on the edge of history,” Brown said. “For a young guy who grew up in Cookeville, Tenn. ... Nebraska is still big to me. It’s still a moment that regardless of how we play and how the game comes out, there are moments in your life that are historical and you will remember them. I’ll remember going to Nebraska
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
for the last time.” Texas certainly has its problems with an offense sputtering and struggling to score touchdowns. Quarterback Garrett Gilbert has yet to produce the sort of game-saving magic that defined Colt McCoy’s career. McCoy beat Nebraska three times. The last win came in last season’s Big 12 championship when game officials put 1 second back on the clock after a pass out of bounds, allowing Texas to kick the winning field goal — angering the Husker nation and coach Bo Pelini. The Texas defense also has struggled the last two weeks, with sloppy play helping UCLA and Oklahoma put together gamechanging scoring drives. Brown has shown he can fix problems post-Oklahoma. He is 12-0 in the first game after the biggest
game on Texas’ schedule every season, with five of those wins coming against ranked teams. Nebraska will be the highest-ranked opponent of that bunch and it will be the first time since 2002 that Texas had to play a ranked team on the road after facing the Sooners. Win and Texas ends a two-game crisis — and the rivalry — with another heartbreaker for Nebraska. Lose and the Longhorns are stuck in the long slog of a rebuilding year just one season after they played for the national championship. “Games like this one are games coaches live for,” Brown said. “You want that moment. You want that chance. Everything will be against us. That’s a cool challenge for these coaches and a team that’s got some growing up to do.”
the Frogs since 2000, his third season at TCU under the coach he later replaced, Dennis Franchione. “The last three times we’ve gone to Colorado, we either lost or won by a very small margin,” Patterson said. “Offensively, we still had our second highest yardage output of the season.” TCU quarterback Andy Dalton should be happy back at home, where he also played his best game of the year against the Bears. He completed 21 of 23 passes for 267 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, his only 200-yard game this year. The winningest QB in school history had his worst game statistically in Colorado, going 11 of 24
for 109 yards and has just 907 yards and six touchdowns at nearly the halfway point of the season a year after he set his career highs with 2,756 passing yards and 23 TDs. “Any way you look at it, he’s still 5-0,” Patterson said. “He didn’t play very good (against Colorado State). He missed some reads and some throws, but the bottom line to it is we still had an unbelievable amount of yardage. We’ve got to score more.” Here’s another way to look at Dalton’s diminished numbers: The Frogs are running the ball like they did when LaDainian Tomlinson was in the backfield. Led by Ed Wesley’s 497 yards, six touchdowns and 7.1 per-carry average, TCU is seventh
nationally at 275 rushing yards per game — the highest since they averaged 275.6 yards in 2000, Tomlinson’s final season. “I don’t think there’s any secret they’ve got a lot of playmakers,” Christensen said. The Cowboys have their own issues on offense, ranking second-to-last nationally at 251 yards per game. They were held to 135 yards in the loss to Boise State and now face another strong TCU defense, ranked No. 3 nationally at 238 yards allowed per game. “It’s not too hard to figure out,” Christensen said. “Execution is the problem. The plays are there. The design is there. The execution is not. So we keep working on it.”
VOLLEYBALL Continued from Page 1B Red Ants. Zapata swept Progreso in three games, 25-12, 25-19 and 25-20. King put on another offensive clinic with 18 kills and four aces. Shelby Bigler, Kristina De Leon, Selina Mata and Jackie Salinas combined for 17 kills to back King’s offensive effort. ZAPATA STATS VS. DONNA: Shelby Bigler (one kill, five aces, two digs), Selina Mata (one kill, four digs), Kristina De Leon (two kills, five aces),
Shelby Bigler, Kristina De Leon, Selina Mata and Jackie Salinas combined for 17 kills to back King’s offensive effort. Jackie Salinas (four aces, eight digs), Cassie Quintanilla (five digs), Estella Molina (three kills, three aces, 18 assists three digs). ZAPATA STATS VS. PROGRESO: King (18 kills, four aces, nine digs, one assist), Bigler (five kills,
three aces), De Leon (five kills, two aces, one block), Salinas (three kills), Mata (four kills, five aces), Cassie Quintanilla (four digs), Abby Aguilar (four digs), Molina (three kills, two aces, 26 assists, five digs).
A&M Continued from Page 1B just its second televised game of the season. They’re also looking for a better performance after last year’s 47-19 loss to the Razorbacks. “I think it’s very important we come back and play a good game against a very good team in Arkansas,” Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said. “Like I told the players, you want to be able to play a team like Arkansas on national TV and be able to give it your best and go out there and do what you can do.” The Aggies are trying to get Johnson back on track after nine turnovers in the last two games. Johnson is the Razorbacks’ No. 1 focus despite his turnovers woes. “He concerns you because of all the big plays he makes throwing the ball, moving outside of the pocket, keeping his vision down field and making
plays,” Petrino said. “He got us on one last year where he just scrambled out and hit a guy open down field. He’s very concerning.” Johnson has vowed to improve his ball security, but his recent trouble have the Razorbacks excited about the possibility of creating more turnovers. Wright said hearing about all his interceptions makes “our eyes big.” “If we come on and give him the pressure Oklahoma State gave him in the last game, I think we have a good chance of (forcing Johnson to turn) the ball over a few times,” Wright said. Johnson said the Aggies aren’t intimidated by Arkansas and they’re goal isn’t simply to show they’ve improved since last year’s lopsided loss. “I like our chances,” he
said. “Arkansas is a good team, but I think we’re a good offense as well. We’re not going in there to kind of see where we’re at, we’re going in there to win the game. We feel we can win the game. We have a lot of respect for them, but at the same time we feel if we play well we can beat anybody.” Though the Aggies have been up and down this year Petrino knows what they are capable of and won’t underestimate them. “What you do is prepare for their best,” he said. “We know how well they can throw it. We are very impressed with their wide receivers. We really have to play fast and physical. (Last year) we were more physical on the defensive front and faster flying to the ball and that’s really what we’ve been emphasizing.”
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B
HINTS BY | HELOISE FENCE ETIQUETTE Dear Heloise: I would like to address my concern for people who think they are letting their dogs “play” with the DOGS BEHIND FENCES while they are walking them. There is an adult who walks her two small dogs in our neighborhood on those retractable leashes. I suppose she thinks it’s cute to stop by our fence, in two separate places, and let her dogs sniff and bark at our two dogs. Our dogs run back and forth and get very excited. They could jump the 5-1/2foot fence. I usually come running out of the house yelling at my dogs to stop. When I walk my dogs, I always keep them under control. When I know the places where there are dogs behind the fence, I cross the street to avoid it. So, hopefully readers will take heed. No one wants to see his or her pet, or anyone else’s, injured. -- Debbie H., via e-mail Debbie, good pet (and people) manners are vital for all of us to observe. Many times, people are just not aware. Hopefully your letter will strike a chord with my readers. -- Heloise DOG-FOOD BAG USES Dear Heloise: Dog-food bags that are heavy-duty and foil-lined are extremely durable and strong. They are excellent for reuse in many ways: Use smaller bags as packing material. To collect yard waste (branches and cuttings). For storing items out of season (holiday decorations,
“
HELOISE
summer supplies, etc.). To save extra dog toys and supplies. Smaller bags can hold smelly or spoiled food for the trash. -- Sharon in Texas All good uses, Sharon, and here is one from Joan in West Virginia about reusing dog-treat bags. She says: “I really believe in recycling glass, plastic, newspaper and aluminum. I like to recycle the zippered bags that I buy dog treats in. They are excellent for holding eggshells and anything that would smell if put in my trash can in the kitchen.” -- Heloise PET PAL Dear Readers: Sarah Smith of Randolph, Maine, sent a photo of her cute little backyard squirrel, hands together, busily eating fruit from a tree. To see the squirrel in action, visit www.Heloise.com. -- Heloise ANIMAL FIRST AID Dear Heloise: We are planning a trip, and we are taking our two little Chihuahuas, Pansy and Pepper (the kids), with us. I bought a book on first aid for small dogs. I have been reading a few pages every day, highlighting items that I may need, and plan to have read the entire book before our trip. I will take the book along, just in case. -Joanne in Arkansas
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4B THE ZAPATA TIMES
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2010
Power, pitching leads Rangers Rays face elimination in Arlington By STEPHEN HAWKINS ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers are quickly altering how they’ve been viewed their entire existence. They’re not just bashing, they’re getting timely hits. They’re not just cobbling together a pitching staff, they’ve got a rotation filled with solid starters. And defense is emphasized by their manager. After using all of that in two impressive road victories in the division series against Tampa Bay, the AL’s top regular-season team, the Rangers are on the cusp of winning a postseason series for the first time in their 50-season history. “All year we’ve tried to play baseball according to the way it’s been presented to us, which means you have to win all different ways,” said fourth-year manager Ron Washington said Friday. “But I think as we move forward and things continue to fall into place, I think people will start changing their minds and their perceptions of the Texas Rangers.” The AL West champions play their first home playoff game in 11 years Saturday needing only one more victory to clinch the best-of-five series. They are the only current major league team that has never won a postseason se-
Photo by John Raoux | AP
Texas Rangers’ Ian Kinsler (5) hits a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning of Game 2 of the ALDS, Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla. ries. Texas had won only one playoff game ever — in 39 seasons in Texas and 11 as the Washington Senators — before their two wins in Tampa this week. “We had some different guys have big moments in those games,” said Michael Young, a six-time All-Star and the longesttenured Ranger in his 10th season. “The common theme was pitching. If we keep pitching well, we’re going to find a way to win games. I think that’s what you’ve seen so far. That’s what we’re going to need to continue to have.” Left-handers Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson won the first two games, when the Rays were limited to one run and eight hits while striking out 23 times. Colby Lewis, drafted the same season (1999) that Texas had last been to the playoffs, starts Game 3 against Matt Garza. “He is not going to be intimidated by the moment,” Rays manager Joe
Maddon said of Garza, who won Game 7 of the 2008 ALCS over Boston. If the Rays can win two games at Rangers Ballpark this weekend — Game 4, if needed, is Sunday afternoon — a seriesdeciding game would be Tuesday at Tropicana Field. With a lot of influence from Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, the team president who this summer added the title of partowner, Texas had a 3.93 ERA that was the lowest since 1990 while setting a record with 1,181 strikeouts. While they still hit homers and have batting champion Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero in the middle of the lineup, the Rangers do more than slug away now. They led the majors with a .276 average, while their 162 homers were their lowest total since 1992, and they had fewer than 1,000 strikeouts for the first time since 2000.